Without
by xandyxpandyx
Summary: A date between Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka ends a little differently than either had planned. One shot. ShikaIno.


Author's note: This is NOT my first fanfiction. I've done several more, this is just the first on this account. Reviews are appreciated greatly. :3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi sensei does.

Enjoy~

A knock on the door echoed through the Yamanaka house, making Ino jump out of her skin. She couldn't be more nervous. You see, the girl has a date. A very important date, as she's been waiting a long time for it. She could barely hold her excitement in as she pulled on her jeans.

Downstairs, the door was answered by Ino's mother. She greeted the young man warmly and invited him into the den. "She'll be down shortly, Shikamaru."

He looked around the familiar room. Of course, he'd been there on several occasions. Tonight, however, was different. He was now here for _her_. He finally got up the nerve to ask her out the day before, and then everything he saw had changed completely.

After a minute, he heard footsteps on the stairs. And sure enough, there was Ino. He had never seen her in regular clothing, only her ninja attire. Quite a dramatic difference.

"H-hey." Ino managed to stutter out.

"Are you ready to go?" Shikamaru asked, and she nodded her head, cheeks reddening. So he stood up and took her hand, and they walked out of the house and into the heart of Konohagakure.

"Finally!" Ayame screeched as the pair took a seat in the ramen stall. She was grinning from ear to ear and planted a kiss on Ino's forehead. "I'm so proud. Finally getting what you wanted."

Ino blushed a deep scarlet. "Shut up, Ayame." She hid her head in her hands and Shikamaru just laughed softly. "You too, dick head."

"Oh, lighten up, will you? You should be happy." Ayame swooned as she placed their bowls down. To refrain from saying anything, Shikamaru started to eat, still snickering.

She sat there a minute, still blushing, and watched him eat. Ino caught Ayame's eye, and whispered, "I am." only to get another giant grin.

The date had gone pretty well so far, and Ino couldn't have been more thrilled. They laid in Shikamaru's favorite cloud watching spot just as the sun began to set. She got so lost in the sea of pinks and oranges that she didn't notice the rain clouds coming in from either direction.

"We should probably get going." Shikamaru said, sitting up. "If we don't leave now we'll both be soaked by the time we get to your house."

But Ino just laid there.

"Ino?" He snapped his fingers in her face.

She was flung back to reality by the first couple droplets of rain. "What's a little rain gonna do? Lay back down and enjoy the sunset. You know, Shika, you can be so troublesome at times." She looked over and smiled sweetly at him, and all he could do was melt back down onto the ground. So they watched until the sun was far below the horizon, already drenched in rain.

And the one thing Ino hadn't planned on was that he'd have to see her while she was wet if they stayed in the rain. Which meant that her makeup would come off. Which meant that she'd be ugly. Which meant no more Shikamaru. And her heart broke in an instant. She got up and ran. Ran as fast as she could. And she made it to her house before he could have the chance to follow her. She breathed a sigh of relief and started to dry off in the bathroom connected to her bedroom. She wiped off the rest of the makeup that was running down her cheeks and put on new clothes.

Even though the date was ruined because of exit, she still felt like it was a much better alternative. Satisfied with her job of cleaning up, she opened the door to her bedroom, and there stood a sopping wet Shikamaru. Ino let out a yelp and slammed the door in his face, silently cursing herself.

"What's with you?" He called from the other side of the door. "I've got feelings too, you know."

She couldn't help it. She couldn't let him see her. She needed to keep up the facade of being perfect so that he'd still like her. "Go away."

And that broke his heart like Ino's had been not twenty minutes earlier. Had he done something wrong? Said something?

"Fine."

She stayed in the bathroom for another hour to make sure he was gone. And when she opened the door, the room was empty. Only his wet footprints remained, leading back to the window.

Ino laid on her bed and buried her head in her pillow. She cried for what seemed like forever. Tears of joy and sadness, all at once.

"Ino?" And for the second time that day she jumped out of her skin. Why was he still there? She wouldn't take her face up from the pillow. It would ruin everything. "Ino, look at me."

She shook her head rapidly. A muffled "I can't." came out. She felt his weight on the other side of the bed as he laid down next to her.

Shikamaru knew that she would hate him for it, but he made the seals for his signature jutsu, and attached his shadow to hers. She began to cry again, because she knew that he would make her show her flaws. He adjusted them so that her face showed, product free and tear streaked.

"So are you going to tell me what your problem is?" He didn't seem to notice that she had no makeup on. He just stared into her eyes, looking for an answer.

"I'm the problem." She said, tearing up more. "The rain washed off my makeup."

They both sat there for a minute or two, then Shikamaru burst out laughing. "That's it? Seriously?" He couldn't fathom why anyone would be upset over that, so it struck him as funny. "Ino," he said, calming down his laughter. "Ino, you're beautiful to me. With or without your products. Listen, I'm in love with you. You. Not your face or skin or hair or any of that. You've got nothing to hide from me."

And upon hearing this, Ino began to cry harder. It confused Shikamaru beyond belief. She should be happy that he thinks that. She shouldn't be crying. He put a hand to her cheek and wiped away a tear. "I'm actually more of a without guy myself. I think makeup is hideous, because people hide behind it. It takes so much effort to be something you're not rather than yourself."

He released his hold on Ino's shadow, and she fell back onto her side. He took her hand and pulled her back up, taking her cheek into his cupped hand. Leaning forward, his lips brushed hers. She blushed again, and smiled. She grabbed the hand on her cheek and pulled him on top of her, pouring all the need for him that she had harbored over the years into that one kiss.


End file.
